There is a line in “Big Feelings” on You or Someone You Know that offers a unique insight into the album with its raw honesty. Worriers songwriter Lauren Denitizo sings “You know I’m married to my work / But I’ve got space to miss you all the time.” The song, ostensibly, is about the whiskey soaked bravery one tends to find in a 4:00am goodbye taking place during the dissolution of a relationship. As a lense to view You or Someone You Know through, “Big Feelings” is a recognition about the theme throughout the album and the reality of Worriers as a vehicle for artistic expression.

You or Someone You Know is a break-up record that chronicles a time in Denitizo’s life where they moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles - their former partner a guitar player on Worriers last two records. The relatable lyrics found on past albums remain with wit and biting charm drawing inspiration across the indelible moments of a relationship firmly in the rear view. There’s the premonitions you ignored in “Enough” as Denitizo confesses “If you’re paying attention / Doesn’t take long for people to show you who they are.” On “Curious,” it’s the uncertainty of a new home alone in “Followed from the subway / In a neighborhood I can’t afford / How long can you go before the needle starts to move?”

The aforementioned “Big Feelings” is the type of melodic indie-punk Worriers has done best in the past. It’s a catchy pop-punk song driven by Denitizo’s sense of melody. Two minutes in, a shredding guitar solo concludes its story with one final climatic chorus demanding finger points in a live setting. Tracks like “PWR CPLE” and “Curious” operate in this fashion. The former adds a new element to the sound of Worriers in the form of Hold Steady-esque keyboards punctuating its corners. Similar moments are found in the chorus of “What Comes Next” which wouldn’t sound out of place as a track on Stay Positive.

Exacerbated by production choices and partially due to track list choices, You or Someone You Know does move away from the punchyness of past Worriers albums. There’s a production sheen on the album that glosses over the guitars on the album. Sometimes it feels like they just can’t get loud enough. This is compounded by the placement of “Terrible Boyfriend” and “Chicago Style Pizza is Terrible” on the midpoint of the album. Both songs are slow and plodding which serves as a good introduction to some of the experimentation on the backend - see the aforementioned “What Comes Next.” However, it does chop up the album just as it begins to hit stride.

You or Someone You Know feels like a transition record. It finds the band experimenting with new compositions beyond three chord riffage, yet still searching for a new, more firm foundation than it arrived at this moment with. Another solid contribution to their catalogue in spite of it.